Design & Features

Design & Features

Although, the new iMac is significantly slimmer and light, it has not differed that greatly in design when compared to its predecessor. In fact, to the untrained eye, it might not be immediately apparent that it is the new iMac. That said, there’s good reason why the design of the iMac hasn't changed much since it remains to be one of, if not the best looking AIO systems in the market.

Apple loves their glossy screens and the new iMac models are no different - there’s no option of matte screens. Fortunately, for those who complain that glossy screens have too much distracting reflections, Apple claims that for the new iMacs, they have been able to reduce unwanted reflections and glare by up to 75%. Although there’s no sure way for us to back up that 75% figure, the new iMac does seem to throw up less noticeable reflections.

The display itself is an IPS LCD panel that offers full 1080p HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution, and while it is not a "Retina"-class screen, images displayed are sharp, bright and crisp.

Round the back, the new iMac offers a good selection of ports and connectivity options. The four USB ports are now of the speedier SuperSpeed USB 3.0 variety and there’s two Thunderbolt ports, which users can to drive external displays (with the use of a suitable adapter) or with Thunderbolt storage devices.

Sonically, the new iMac isn’t as accomplished as the ASUS ET2300INTI that we reviewed recently, lacking bass and bite. On the upside, it was pretty loud and vocals sounded clear and bright. If you intend to use the machine for a lot lot audio playback, invest in a decent PC stereo speaker system.